Bon Jovi, Springsteen led Come Together concert to help slain Long Branch cop's family

20 years ago, Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Little Steven Van Zandt and Southside Johnny Lyon joined together at the Count Basie Theatre to raise money for the family of a slain Long Branch police officer.
Jean Mikle

RED BANK - One of the greatest shows in the history of the Jersey Shore music scene arose from an almost unfathomable tragedy.

Twenty years ago, on Jan. 31, 1998, Jon Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen, Little Steven Van Zandt and Southside Johnny Lyon took the stage at the Count Basie Theatre for a nearly three-hour show that my friend Billy Smith believes was "the greatest collaborative show in Jersey music history."

It was also a celebration of life for police officers and friends of Long Branch police Sgt. Patrick King, the 45-year-old cop whose murder at the hands of a fugitive was the impetus for the show.

King – the most highly decorated officer in the history of the Long Branch police department – was on duty when he was murdered while waiting for an order of chow mein in a Chinese restaurant in the city.

His killer was a fugitive who knew he was about to be arrested for a stabbing in Massachusetts, who vowed to kill a police officer before killing himself. Two months after King's murder, the "Bon Jovi and Friends: Come Together" concert was a fundraiser for King's family, including his wife, Maureen, and two young sons.

Buy Photo

Long Branch Police Detective Sgt. Patrick King, who was gunned down by Deon Bailey, who was wanted for murder by the FBI. King, the most highly decorated officer in the Long Branch police department, was slain at the Ming Ying chinese restaurant in Long Branch on Nov. 20, 1997, while he waited for his dinner order.(Photo: File photo)

"The greatest roster of homegrown rock 'n' roll talent ever assembled under one roof recreated 20 years of Jersey Shore rock memories, as Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi and a host of others gave a concert that raised more than $112,000 for the family of a murdered Long Branch police sergeant," Wayne Parry wrote in the Asbury Park Press.

I was lucky enough to be there that night, and 20 years later, the show remains in my own personal top 10.

What we saw that night in Red Bank was a brilliant rock 'n' roll show which included not only Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Little Steven and Southside Johnny, but several members of the E Street Band, Bon Jovi's band and a full horn section.

The group played a three-hour "greatest hits" concert that included some unique collaborations, with Springsteen, Southside and Bon Jovi trading verses on each other's songs.

Watch the video to learn more about Patrick King and the Come Together benefit.

"The concert resembled a giant rock 'n' roll volleyball game, with musicians rotating in and out of each song," Parry wrote in the Press. "On any given number, Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora might be on stage with drummer Max Weinberg, (guitarist Bobby) Bandiera, Southside or any combination thereof. Often, Springsteen, Southside and Bon Jovi took turns singing verses of each other's songs.

It featured a near reunion of Springsteen's E Street Band, with Clarence "Big Man" Clemons, Danny Federici and Max Weinberg joining Little Steven and The Boss on classic songs like "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out," "Badlands," and "Born to Run."

Springsteen had parted ways with the band in October 1989, and they'd played together only a couple of times since.

So loud was the crowd during "Born to Run" that chips of plaster from the theatre's ceiling flaked off, drizzling down on the audience. I remember watching people wiping plaster chips off their shoulders and shaking them out of their hair.

The crowd included about 200 members of Bon Jovi's fan club, who were thrilled to hear their hero playing some of his biggest hits, often with help from his famous friends. Bon Jovi and Springsteen traded verses on "You Give Love a Bad Name," and Southside shared vocals with Bon Jovi on "Bad Medicine."

E Streeter Patti Scialfa, Springsteen's wife, also joined in that night, performing an original song, "Love's Glory."

About 50 Long Branch police officers attended the show.

"It was a chance to forget about it a little bit," Long Branch police Sgt. Bruce Johantgen told the Press on the day after the show. "The outpouring of love from the performers to the audience was unbelievable."

"It just speaks to the basic goodness of people in the face of tragedy and adversity, police Lt. Patrick M. Joyce said. "We're fortunate in this area to have people like Springsteen and Bon Jovi that haven't forgotten their roots and are generous with their time and talents."

On the night that King was murdered, FPI co-owner Tony Pallagrosi was dining at a Japanese restaurant only a couple of doors down from the Chinese restaurant where King was shot.

Rushing out into the street, Pallagrosi and his girlfriend saw police converging on the strip mall and quickly learned what had happened.

"When I found out who it was, while I was out in the street, knew about the family, and I thought, 'This is going to be a benefit situation, with his family and everything, there's going to need to be a benefit,'" Pallagrosi said.

He and one of his FPI Concerts partners, Jerry Bakal, discussed a potential benefit that night, and within a day or two reached out to Long Branch police department to see if there was interest in a show.

Poster from the Come Together concert, held Jan. 31, 1998 in Red Bank, signed by all the participants.(Photo: Billy Smith collection)

"We called Bruce's people but didn't get a call back right away," Pallagrosi remembers. "We waited a couple of days. I said, 'I'm going to call Bon Jovi's people.' Jon called back within 15 to 20 minutes. He said, 'Tell me what's going on.' I told him, and I said, 'Are you in?' He said 'yes' and he started making phone calls. He made a lot, we made a few, and the show started to take shape."

Dan Lee, who worked for FPI at the time, came up with the name "Come Together."

Rehearsals were held at the Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park, and then, the night before the show, at the Count Basie.

"We would go down and watch the rehearsals, and it was exciting," Pallagrosi said. "It was a show I wanted to see." Tickets for the show – priced at $125 – sold out in minutes.

Billy Smith and his wife, Ruth, paid even more, bidding $2,600 for two front-row tickets in a radio station contest.

"You really felt that you were contributing to something worthwhile,," Smith told me for a story I wrote the day after the show. "When I was on the phone for the (ticket) auction, I thought, "There is no way I am going to let these tickets get away."

On the night of the concert, Asbury Park native Danny DeVito introduced the band.

"What´s coming on this stage tonight … is gonna rock your socks off," DeVito said. "… All right, without further ado, are you ready? Are you really ready? Oh, you better be because this time it´s for real."

Buy Photo

Southside Johnny Lyon sings while Jon Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen look on in this classic shot from the Come Together concert at the Count Basie Theatre, Jan. 31, 1998(Photo: Mark R. Sullivan)

At that, the curtain lifted to reveal Bon Jovi, Springsteen, Little Steven Bobby Bandiera and Southside on stage, and the expansive band broke into a killer version of the Jukes' classic, "This Time It's for Real." Bon Jovi and Springsteen dropped to their knees on the first note.

More than a few in the audience thought that it was Southside Johnny who stole the show in a night filled with amazing performances.

"I thought the show was great, I thought Southside was fabulous that night," Pallagrosi said. "I just thought, he looked great, his voice was great, and there was something about the spirit of the Jersey Shore that he embodied that night."

The carefully-crafted set list finished after Born to Run, but the musicians wanted to keep playing. After rousing rockers "Rocking All Over the World" and "Treat Her Right," the band seemed perplexed about which song to choose to end the show.

"Bon Jovi, Springsteen and Van Zandt gathered in a circle in the middle of the stage, teaching each other chords to the next song they hoped to play," Parry wrote in the Press. "'We ran outta songs,' Springsteen said sheepishly.